Remember the days when it seemed as if
every week a new slasher film with a holiday in the title would hit movie
theaters and you couldn’t wait to see it? How about waiting with baited breath
to see if Eddie Murphy would appear as Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live? Or walking around the neighborhood with your
boom box blasting awesome tunes from legendary groups like Blondieor The Police? Well, if you were a
teenager in the 1980s, you remember these things well. You probably also
remember trying to sneak into the local movie theater in order to see R-rated
sex comedies like Porky’s (1982)or hanging out with your friends at the
corner pizza shop and playing now classic video games such as Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. If all this talk (especially the
sex comedy/video game part) is making you nostalgic for those unforgettable
days of fun, then you’re gonna love 1983’s Joysticks.

With the help of his idiotic nephews Arnie
(John Diehl from Stripes) and Max (Newhart’s John Voldstad), uptight
businessman Joseph Rutter (the great Joe Don Baker from Walking Tall, GoldenEye and Mars
Attacks!) does everything in his power to get the local video arcade shut
down. However, arcade owner Jefferson Bailey (Secret Admirer’sScott
McGinnis) doesn’t plan on going out without a fight. Jefferson enlists his
co-worker Eugene (Leif Green from Grease
2), his best friend McDorfus (Night
Shift’s Jim Greenleaf) as well as Rutter’s rebellious daughter Patsy (Corinne
Bohrer from Vice Versa) to help him
thwart the reactionary businessman’s misguided plan. The battle for the
arcade’s future culminates in a Super Pac-Man duel between the video
game-phobic Jefferson and Rutter’s Super Pac-Man champion, King Vidiot (Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Gries).

If you don’t remember seeing this mindless,
but deliriously fun film way back when, then you probably at least recall
catching the trailer on TV. Joysticks was
the brainchild of independent filmmaking legend Greydon Clark (Satan’s Cheerleaders, Angel’s Brigade,
Without Warning) who, while at a screening of his 1982 slasher film parody Wacko, noticed a line of kids standing
in front of a video game in the lobby of the theater. Seeing how excited these
kids were over playing this game, Greydon immediately thought that a video
arcade would be the perfect location for a hot, new teenage sex comedy. The
creative director developed his timely idea further, began filming in the fall
of ’82, and by the following spring, Joysticks
was the #1 movie in the country.

The humorous film is filled with solid
direction, extremely loveable characters and fun performances (you may not
recognize most of that incredibly talented cast by name, but trust me when I
tell you that you’ll immediately recognize their faces as they’ve all gone on
to do a plethora of work over the years). Joysticks
also benefits from a simple and engaging story as well as contains enough laughs
to fill its brief 87 minute running time. The lighthearted comedy may not be in
the same league as, say, Animal House (1978)or Caddyshack
(1980), and it’s far from being an accurate depiction of teenage life in
the ‘80s à la Fast Times at Ridgemont High
(1982), but it’s a harmless and highly enjoyable film. If you were around
during the early ‘80s video game craze, will have you happily strolling down
memory lane.

Joysticks has been released
on DVD by Scorpion Releasing in a brand new 16x9 anamorphic (1.78:1) widescreen
transfer and, although the film shows some scratches and the colors aren’t as
vibrant as, say, Blu-ray, the movie is more than watchable and a huge
improvement over the previous DVD release. The disc also contains the original
theatrical trailer, a very interesting and informative audio commentary with
producer/director Clark who discusses many aspects of the film’s production
and, also, an onscreen interview with Clark who not only talks about several
films from his impressive filmography, but also details directing seasoned
veterans Joe Don Baker (who also starred in Wacko
and Final Justice for Clark),
George Kennedy (Wacko and Clark’s The Uninvited), Jack Palance (Angel’s Brigade, Without Warning),
Martin Landau (Without Warning and
Clark’s second sci-fi film The Return)
and Robert Englund (Clark’s Dance Macabre).
Rounding out the special features are several fun 70s/80s exploitation trailers
(the awesome trailer for 1981’s Kill and
Kill Again is priceless) which are guaranteed to bring back memories.

Whether you’re a fan of Greydon Clark, Joe
Don Baker, retro video games, ‘80s teen sex comedies or just like to sit back,
veg out and feel good, Joysticks is
the DVD for you.

(NOTE: Scorpion Releasing advises that this title has sold out. However, the company may do a re-pressing in the future. For now, it is available on Amazon through third party sources. Click here to order.)